God of War: Ascension may have been entertaining, but it showed that Kratos had lost the Midas touch. Sony Santa Monica’s reluctance to experiment with a formula that had already been recycled five times prior left one of PlayStation’s best-known protagonists in a precarious position: was there even a way back for the Ghost of Sparta? On the evidence of this sublime PlayStation 4 soft-reboot, all that was required was a change of perspective, mythology, and design philosophy. Easy, right? Read on for our God of War review.

This is a special game, and it’s evident from the opening exchanges. A sequel set many years after the Greek trilogy, Kratos is now a father taking refuge in the Norse realm of Midgard with his son Atreus. At the very beginning of the 25 hour plus storyline, the pair are preparing to cremate the Ghost of Sparta’s late wife. The title lets the outrageously articulated character models reveal their emotions, as the title leans on subtlety for the first time since its inception over a decade ago.

This is a different kind of God of War – and it’s all the better for it. There’s actual nuance to Kratos’ character now; he still exhibits the blind rage of his predecessor, but this is a coming of age story for both him and his spawn. After the events that transpired with Zeus, the protagonist is learning to become a father. Similarly, his son is discovering what it means to be a God, all while the pair journey through several of the Norse mythology’s nine realms.

Structured similarly to a modern Tomb Raider title, the game allows for exploration while simultaneously funnelling you through its pristinely presented fantasy world. There are a handful of side-quests to pick up, gameplay-based challenges to complete, and no shortage of collectibles to snag. All things said, with the dozen or so optional bosses factored in, there’s well over 50 hours of high quality gameplay here – it virtually eclipses the running-time of all previous six games combined.

But this is one of those releases that encourages you to play your own way. There are mini-puzzles to complete in practically every environment, but if the dopamine drip-feed of solving these doesn’t do it for you, then you’re free to push on – minus the loot, obviously. Speaking of which, for the first time in the franchise Kratos is deeply customisable, with his armour and axe including numerous slots for you to alter the character’s attributes – and even his abilities.

While old-school character action fans may balk at the absence of a Street Fighter-esque move list, there’s a grace to the title’s combat system that rekindles the frantic feel of previous releases – despite the change in perspective. With the camera pulled behind the protagonist, a new quick-turn button is essential – while Atreus will bring your attention to incoming threats in a similar manner to the “voices” in Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice. It’s fast, fluid, and appropriately ferocious.

But there are wrinkles to the action that are all-new. Kratos can throw his axe, stalling enemies before recalling it. This addition, so small on the surface, is weaved into practically every facet of the campaign, as it’s used for puzzles, navigation, and much more. Similarly, Atreus is assigned his own button prompt, and can be called upon during combat to stun or attract the attention of antagonists. There are some foes that can’t even be beaten without the youngster’s input.

This mechanic helps build the bond between father and son, and there’s a real arc to the way that the relationship between the pair unfolds. While moods do change a little hurriedly in places, the character development is more on par with what we’ve come to expect from a Naughty Dog title – which is a compliment, of course. Impressively, the game balances dark subject matter and some fairly heavy tones with a real laugh out loud sense of humour, owing to a superb supporting cast.

And of course, it looks and sounds phenomenal from start-to-finish. Guerrilla Games may have raised the visual bar with last year’s Horizon: Zero Dawn, but God of War releases its Spartan Rage and lifts it ever higher. This is an absurdly beautiful game, which blends hyper-realism with outright fantasy to memorable effect. The character models are staggering, but they’re arguably exceeded by the remarkable environment art. And yes, there are some truly stunning set-pieces which punctuate the plot.

Perhaps the most impressive thing is that the game starts like a rocket, and rarely takes time to breathe. There are a handful of very minor lulls, and the odd climbing sequence may grate in subsequent playthroughs, but for the most part it’s meticulously paced. The title does a brilliant job of constantly introducing new mechanics, meaning there’s always something new to play with before you’re ushered along to the next big thing.

And this will extract the completionist in you, as areas are revisited in Metroidvania fashion, opening up new pathways and secrets that couldn’t be accessed before. It’s a wonderfully designed game that never feels like it’s short on ideas, and its core story has more than enough surprises to keep you engaged throughout its substantial running-time. With multiple difficulty tiers and a hearty helping of side-content too, this is as fulfilling as single player releases come.

Conclusion

God of War is a special game. This reimagining of the famous PlayStation franchise elevates the series in unexpected ways, without forgetting the core tenets that made Kratos a fan-favourite to begin with. This is a sprawling single player epic with an abundance of secrets and a storyline that keeps you hooked from start-to-finish. While it borrows liberally from other action adventure greats, its unique combat and outstanding artistic direction separate it from its immediate peers. A truly impressive achievement.

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As always, I'm happy to answer any and all questions that I can. Sony's embargo is very strict for this game, so please keep in mind that I may not be able to answer everything. They're very keen on keeping spoilers under wraps (which is a good thing).

I was already hyped to play this but this review has the anticipation kicked up to 11 now. Sounds like it's doing exactly what the original God of War did back in 2005. A re-invention that's done right. The combat, which was my main concern, is different but intriguing. All the gameplay I've seen the last month or so has me believing I'll enjoy it.

Wow, well done Sony (and Santa Monica studios), looks like you've delivered another high quality game to add to the PS4s already impressive portfolio, looks like 2018 is definitely turning into another golden year. Looking forward to playing this one immensely!

Hate that 25 hrs figure for the campaign, it's too long, and I'll probably avoid it for this reason. Witcher 3 and MVS V ate so much of my time till a few minths ago and not much was left for other games. Decided that I prefer shorter games and enjoy more variety. For me the ~10 hrs in 2 previous GOW games I played was exactly the way it should be, too bad they exaggerated the new one's time just to please reviewers

@PS4fan There was always going to be a few like this. There always is, just like there was with Breath of the Wild. Someone will always find something to dislike, and this writer is clearly one of those that puts more emphasis on their writing making a statement about them, rather than its actual subject matter. Which is fine in some cases but when you're reviewing one of the biggest releases of the year, it comes across a bit juvenile. But hey ho.

Anywho, GoW is sounding pretty amazing, all things considered. I'll admit I've never been the biggest fan of the franchise - they were always spectacular and fun but for some reason didn't quite click with me in the way they seemed to with everyone else. This new one sounds like a heck of an experience though and I can't wait to try it.

Think I might have to get a PS4 Pro for this one too - @get2sammyb - do you know if there's much difference between the two versions?

I've only been interested in this game for about a month, but it feels much longer...I won't be able to play it right away though as I want to finish the Uncharted games first. Currently on Uncharted 3 now. And then I'm gonna play the other God of War games to get me ready for this one!

Its what I expected and partly hoped they would deliver. GoW was always far too vacuous for my liking - just bashing buttons to get the highest combo but this seemed so much more mature, more story orientated, more evolved - which is why I ended up pre-ordering.Glad it seems to have delivered!!

This is the most excited I've ever been for a God of War game. I've played the previous ones and they were fine, but ever since this was announced and looked more thoughtful and less childish, I've been into it. Glad it turned out well, and glad this is the only game I've pre-ordered in 2018 so far.

I haven't played ANY of the previous GoW games, but I'm definitely pre-ordering this now!! What with Far Cry 5 & Ni No Kuni II there just ain't enough hours in the day to play all these great games On a side note, anyone know why you still can't pre-order this on Amazon (UK)? They list it as "currently unavailable" yet it's out in 8 days! Strange.

Excellent review @get2sammyb..I was looking forward to this game before but I'm now as hyped for this as I was for Horizon Zero Dawn which was my game of the year!A perfect 10 is not something I was expecting though.Is there no negatives at all?

Hey @get2sammyb great review. One question, does the game have loads of extras like the previous entries after you finish it? As in, behind the scenes videos, artwork and assets galleries etc. Would be good to know!

@Turismo4GT hahaha.im a black man from new york.been playing video games from 1983.and if it wasnt for grand theft auto and god of war i dont know if i would l💖ve video games as much i do now.been a PlayStation fan since day 1 in 1995.i love gaming even more thanks to PlayStation.syphon filter was my favorite ps1 game ever.anyways i l💛ve all the g💪d of war games.and this game is the best wowwwwww.PlayStation you are the best from a underdog in 1995 to the king of gaming.word up son .word

@Fight_Teza_Fight hahaha thanks.wow this game is of the chain.my favorite PlayStation franchises ever is back in legendary levels.word up son.as a black man from new york this is a dream come true franchises.watching the movie clash of the titans.i always wanted to play a video game like that.thanks PlayStation my dream came true.and i became a god of war fan since the fist game.word up son.game of the year 2018💓💗💜💚❤💞💖💕💛

@get2sammyb Great review, and glad to know that it's a 'worth the $60 price tag'. My question, if there is online play function on it, how bad is it to get a platinum trophy without having to play online.

Looks good. I'll slap it on my to buy eventually list. I have no money in April.

@ShogunRok I get the impression you were an elitist snob before being a reviewer and getting stuff for free. I maintain review copies should be returned upon completion. After all you dont get to keep a car for review.

@get2sammyb Nice review, though both Sony and Santa Monica are probably mad at you for starring off with GoW Ascension as I'm pretty sure we are supposed to forget that game exists. Oh, and the formula being stale didn't do that game in, focusing on multiplayer did.

Reading that part about the use of the axe and the boy made me think this game is trying to be Ratchet & Clank, which is kinda funny. 😆

Now I'm torn, really want to play it, but I'm 60+ hours into H:ZD with probably another 30 left and this is kinda similar, may need to play a nice long JRPG first. Oh and I still have RotTR waiting, which I need to play first before TR3 comes out. Oh why did I have to go and grow old and have kids? 😛

@playstation1995 On that we will just have to disagree. It does look as though they have actually crafted a good game with a good story and much better characters. Its possible that now the franchise has matured, this could well be the turning point that turns this Franchise into one of the best - it seems they have created a GotY contender but with games like RDR2 out this year, it faces stiff competition

@kyleforrester87 I'm in a lot of pain, like the enemies of Kratos as he flings an axe through their heads.

I suppose I'm more curious on just deep and expansive the combat options are in this. For 25 hours with a character that cant do more than puzzle solve and kill stuff in this game, it better be varied.

@get2sammyb I've only skimmed through the review, since I want to know as little as possible before playing it (it helps that the developers didn't show much of the game so far, I feel like they only showcased one level) but I'd like you to ask you about the story. I know you said that it got you hooked from start to finish, but how does it compare to other great story driven games? It is of particular interest to me, because outside of the setting it's what will probably make or break this game for me.

Excellent review. If I could just ask one thing: prior to GoW Ascension the formula had only been recycled 4 times surely? GoW came out, the formula was then recycled first for 2; and then for 3 and the two PSP games. Or am I missing something?

@Greenmekon Weirdly, the modern Tomb Raider games. It's got the same structure as those, and Cory directed the cutscenes in the first one so there are similarities in style. God of War is MUCH better written and acted, though.

@SKC_Diamond That review made me laugh. I'm pretty sure they didn't play the game.

@Gamer83 I think you'll love the combat, it's no Devil May Cry, but it's really fun.

@redd214 I knew as soon as I played the first hour this was going to review very well.

@Octane Nice! The last few paragraphs should be enough to convince you to pick this up!

@leucocyte It's a very impressive Metacritic total, and so well deserved.

@RoyalD There are ties to previous God of War games, but I wouldn't want to say much more. The story generally just begins at a random time, but that's what makes it so brilliant — it doesn't beat you over the head with what's been going on, and instead lets your brain fill in the blanks.

@hulkie How do you mean? Like, you mean can you go back and watch previous cut-scenes again? You can't, but it's worth noting that it's all done in real-time. There are no cut-scene videos in the game; everything is done in-engine and rendered locally on your PS4. (This means the file size is actually only 30GB).

@AFCC Yeah, totally spoiler-free. Sony has restricted us from mentioning some things to preserve the surprise, which I think is great. (Although it did mean extra work for me capturing the video footage.)

@Futureshark It's shaping up to be a cracker now. Monster Hunter aside I wasn't feeling 2018, but now with God of War and stuff like Spider-Man and RDR2 on the way, it's looking superb.

@munkondi I think you'll be proven wrong; give it a shot and keep an open mind.

@Retro88 @playstation1995 Word up, son!

@wiiware Hope you love it as much as I did.

@Bluetrain7 Yeah it's a shame everyone has to wait another week to play it, but it will be worth it!

@Fight_Teza_Fight I'm going to try and find out what's going on with Amazon UK, it's very odd.

@Jake3103 Not really. You could play this standalone and you'd be fine, but there are references that will help you to connect with Kratos a bit more. I'd recommend watching a recap video of the story so far. There are a few on YouTube.

@Kidfried Thanks, it was a really hard video to do as well because Sony was very restrictive about what we could show/talk about. I wanted to leave just enough in to tease certain sections, without giving anything away. I'm happy with how it turned out!

@get2sammyb I have one question, but I'm not sure if you're allowed to talk about this. They mentioned optional areas and bosses, are they easy to miss? I presume you can go back to them at any time, or is it possible to miss certain areas/characters/bosses and get locked out of them?

Hadn’t been planning on buying this right away, but now I’m having second thoughts. It sounds like a game good enough to divert away from whatever collection of backlog games one might be playing and start up straight away. I don’t know. First world problems.

I spent a lot of time exploring and engaging in (some of the) side-content during the story, which boosts the figure a bit. That's all optional, though, so if you want to run the critical path you can get through it a bit quicker.

@PS4fan They're entitled to their opinion but upon scanning that I don't agree at all.

@PS4fan There are a couple of patches yes, but they're only small ones. Just minor bug fixes and stuff.

@get2sammyb yeah the review is superbly written! It peaked my interest without mentioning anything spoilery!How do you compare the scale of this one? It's obvious it does not have a Cronos gight but it still seems pretty epic with the World Serpent, that weird dragon and such!

I haven’t played God of War in so long. Only played the first game back on PS2. Still playing Persona 5 and the next game I’m getting is Yakuza 6, but I’ll keep this game in mind. Something different for me.

@get2sammyb I actually understand what you mean! Limiting your view makes you feel tiny like Kratos I guess!Glad I pre ordered the Collector's Edition, this game seems deserving! Also, now that I know your opinion I can sleep like a baby until friday! Thanks

@get2sammybI'm not worried about it anymore, I saw enough videos that I know I'm going to like this game. The only thing will be balancing this with Yakuza 6 which I also plan to get day one. I know Yakuza games take me a long time to play and it seems GoW is also a pretty long game.

@R1spam oh yeah so many good games for PlayStation.plus ps1 and ps2 classics ps3 games.digital psn games etc.and ps4 retail games😇.yeah god of war is the best.this game is not only game of year.but easily top 10 games ever.word up son

@get2sammyb i bet this game gonna sold out in almost everywhere during launch day and during weekend. i want ask you question about PS4 Pro for performance or 4k resolution. if i choose performance instead 4k resolution so that would hurt visual fidelity ? i still using new tv is 1080p with 50 inches right now. i will buy 4k tv next year in 2019 before PS5 come out

1) No you don't have to have played them, it works as a standalone. However, there are wrinkles to Kratos' character that won't resonate without the context. I'd recommend watching a recap on YouTube, there are a handful of good ones.

2) Definitely. Although I'd argue it goes further than that. This is a much bigger change.

@get2sammyb thank but i see favor resolution will enable supersampling mode that added in PS4 5.50 firmware update. Can you tell us how many trophies does this game have ? 51 trophies ? i love collect trophies on games what i played. i has about 10,445 trophies now because i need collect gold, silver and platinum trophies for earn Sony reward points by those trophies.

By the way, does this game have Krato and Atreus on game disc cover ? i just want know that's all

@get2sammyb You can probably guess my question Sammy, but how was the music? The snippets I've heard here and there in the promotional material sounded incredible, but curious to hear how it sounded in-game.

Good to hear that the game "starts off like a rocket"...I was getting reeeeal sick of the boring intro scenes in single-player games, to the point where I'll just abandon the game altogether (Uncharted 4 comes to mind).

@playstation1995 Personally I think Spider-Man will be a good and fun game but I don't think it will be a Game of the Year contender. I have that, as well as GoW pre-ordered - both steelbook editions but I can't see SM beating other games that are expected this year.

When you consider that there is also Red Dead Redemption out, a game that others are scared to go up against - inc the mighty juggernaut of CoD as well as games like Detroit, Dreams, Tomb Raider, Metro Exodus, BioMutant etc as well as games like Far Cry 5 and Monster Hunter that have released already.

I wouldn't be surprised if Spider-Man sells well - maybe better than GoW but I don't think it will be a GotY contender - a Solid 8/10

@BAMozzy nah i believe people will say this is the best spiderman game ever.word up mouth is gonna spread.and plus spiderman is beloved all around the world.its definitely a 10 and 9 everywhere.when spiderman drops.word up son

@eltomo I did a video on YouTube which you can check out. I'll post it on the site later in the week.

@playstation1995 I get what @BAMozzy is saying about Spider-Man, though. It's definitely looking like the best Spidey game in a long, long time and will almost certainly be top-drawer, but I'd be surprised if it resonates on an emotional level like God of War does. It's just a cut above really.

Great review 8 days cannot come fast enough. Also looking forward to the possibilities the sequel (s) will have, Like having a grown atreus kicking ass along side kratos, and eventually taking over as god of war

@PS_Nation hahaha.i knew this game was going to be legendary.gamingbolt also gave it a perfect 10. happyconsolegamer gave it a 9 .75 and he said god of war is game of the year 2018.best franchises ever.word up son

@get2sammyb Sammy, one last question, please! What difficulty did you use? I'm kinda on the fence between hard and normal! Since the game has no camera cuts I kinda don't want to die so the camera doesn't really cut xD but also I want some kind of challenge! What do you feel is the best?

@get2sammyb I fell. No seriously that was a fantastic write up (shouldn't of even doubted you ) not an inch of spoilers in sight and reading the part about optional bosses and abundant puzzles got me going. This is going to be insane.

Sounds amazing, i'm glad the change of direction has worked out well for the franchise, i think i will start GOW 3 now so i can get around to getting this, it's been sitting in my backlog for far too long, i loved the first two games in the series so not sure why i've not gotten around to it yet lol

I think its a bit too early to be talking about GOTY yet though ! Especially when you consider how many unannounced games are yet to be revealed at E3 that'll be released towards the end of the year, then there's the announced games that don't have release dates yet that still might drop in 2018 like Metroid Prime 4, which will easily be a contender. This year is shaping up to be a great year for gaming !

@get2sammyb Thank you for being so responsive in this comment section. Seeing as he is mappped to that button, will this website receive a temporary logo update for launch day?“Push Square (for Atreus)”

@get2sammyb I'm not sure if anyone else asked it before, but could you elaborate some more on the side content? You mentioned the handful of side quests but are they actually good and fleshed out or mainly serve a distraction?

@THEundying27 Now now, let not have any of that. Who knows what MS will be revealling at E3 that will have PS owners be the ones doing the 'port begging'. Let's all just enjoy games, regardless of platform.

@Lurker They're... Pretty good. It's more of the same stuff you'll have done in the main campaign, but there's new story, dialogue, puzzles, gameplay challenges. They're not The Witcher 3 side-quests, but they're good. There's also absolutely TONS of general collectible stuff.

@Everyone Can we knock off the console wars crap. This is a review about God of War, no one cares what Microsoft will announce at E3 or whether Metroid is coming out in 2018. You can discuss all of that on the forums.

@playstation1995 Wow, laughing at one of the best and most highly rated franchises in the whole of gaming, God of War is good but its no Metroid lmao i realise you seem to only buy Sony consoles but you should branch out a bit, you're missing some seriously good franchises out there.

Also, learn to respect other people's tastes, i think GTA is the biggest load of crap going but i wouldn't actively tag you to say so...

@RainbowGazelle Are you sure you read the same review the rest of us did? What I got out of it was excellent combat, storytelling, world building, puzzles, side quests, post game content, optional bosses, and some RPG elements thrown in for good measure, all wrapped in a beautiful package.

Digital copy is downloaded and the clock is counting down. Midnight can’t come soon enough. I just want to feel the rumble of the controller when the axe cones flying back to the hand of Kratos. I’m going to be distracted at work thinking about playing it and staring at my new Kratos Funko POP figure on my desk.

I was disappointed that the digital art book, comic, and dynamic theme will not be unlocked until midnight either.

This is by far the best review of any game I have read from you I am not sure if im getting this until the end of may but I have to admit it looks utterly stunning did you do your review based on the pro or OG ps4 ?

I haven't played any GOW games and have a huge backlog of other games. This has caught my eye though, purely cos the story looks interesting. Would I need to play the previous games before playing this?